IYC Update: Man linked to organized crime family

MIDWEST CITY, OKLA. – Our In Your Corner team is hot on the trail of Edward Cooper.

Monday, we told you the Indiana man was passing through our state.

Investigators say he’s been tooling around town defrauding unsuspecting homeowners, like the Crain family.

“I think he’s a rip-off artist,” Earl Crain said.

We’ve learned Cooper comes from a long line of notorious traveling scam artists, the reputed product of an organized crime family, specializing in thievery and fraud with ties to Indiana, Oklahoma and Texas.

We’ve warned you about their asphalt scams before.

Midwest City Police Lt., Jerry Kennedy said, “A lot of times they’ll approach people, ‘Hey we’re in the neighborhood. We just got done spraying somebody’s driveway or a street and we have extra material left and they’d like to give you a cheap price if they could spray your driveway.’”

In the Crain’s case, Edward Cooper sprayed some sort of lousy asphalt sealant on the family’s roof.

Tuesday, word of a big break in the case.

With the help of an informant, undercover officers set up a sting to try to catch Edward Cooper, but it wasn’t their man who showed.

“A vehicle showed up matching the description,” Lt. Kennedy said. “There were two males in it, both with the last name of Cooper.”

They were Edward’s scheming relatives.

Police had to let one of the guys go, but arrested Harry Cooper on an outstanding warrant out of Tulsa County for home repair fraud.

Other members of this alleged crime family are still at large.

Investigators believe Edward Cooper and his family members are still in the area.

If anyone with the last name cooper approaches you about driveway or roof repairs, we urge you to call police.